Tuesday, August 03, 2010

Tuesday Lectionary Leanings - Where your treasure is edition

Well, your lectionary leaner has been asleep at the wheel, but the lectionary never sleeps. Apologies for this Leanings coming so late in the day that it is already practically Wednesday where you are.

What are you preaching about this week? On the heels of last week's parable on greed, you might be doing a second in a series on "where your treasure is, if it's not stored in a bigger barn." This weeks' passage contains some real gems ("the one from whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded," for example) but it has some more difficult passages, too.

I'm last-minute (well, it's Tuesday so it's not completely last minute, but I just found out today) supply preaching. Thinking of going with the definition of faith from the Hebrews reading. Or, depending on how the week goes, recycling something else.

I'm trying to figure out a fresh approach that doesn't just copy last week's sermon, but I'm feeling rather uninspired by the texts.

This Sunday I have to preach to a small gathering of "Summer People" on one of Maine's seasonally inhabited coastal islands: a faith community that is only a "community" in the loosest, most casual sense, with little shared history. This is my second year doing this gig, so I know a tiny bit about the place, but not much.

The Isaiah passage does not work with this crowd. Genesis is not much better, with the Abraham/Sarah "withered loins" bit. (I always think about how this passage may be heard by people who have fertility issues or miscarriages--or people who have chosen not to have children due to concerns about overpopulation--and it makes me wince.)

I'm thinking of starting the Luke reading early, at verse 22, including the part about God caring for the ravens and the grasses...perhaps we'll be able to explore the idea of faith as we "rest in the peace of wild things."

we're doing the part between last week's and this week's luke readings (the don't worry bit) and the treasure-heart bit as well.I was scheduled to preach, but now the person who got bumped for the Candidate Weekend is preaching instead, so I just have Children's Time duty (I think...maybe not? I have to double check!). I did pick hymns though, in case anyone's still looking for inspiration...we're doing For The Beauty Of The Earth, In The Bulb There Is A Flower, and How Can I Keep From Singing. good times.

@MaineCelt - I love the birds and the grasses part so much! There is a beautiful Natalie Sleeth song "Consider the Lilies" I heard as a duet. I preached a story sermon called "The Worrybird" on this passage, that was about a red-winged blackbird. It was sort of Thurber-esque. If I can find it, I'll try to post it.

I hooked 'treasures of the heart' bit onto last week's sermon, it just made sense with where I was going/ what I was doing.

This week going for Hebrews and faith - and thinking a wee bit about the freedom Hebrews 11:1 gives us - faith is not about fact and proof, so we don't have to have answers for everything; it doesn't make logical sense to begin a debate with someone like Dawkins using his methodology... if you could 'prove' God, my thought is that you'd then 'contain' God - so God would not then be God. Faith is about acknowledging we don't have all the answers and that it is perfectly fine to live with that tension. To question is not wrong, nor is it evidence of lack of faith... all the great heroes of the faith asked questions.Opening hymn: Guide me o thou great Jehovah.

at this point, I've latched onto Hebrews, especially the "If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city." Looking to the future, not the past. That "Therefore", sounds like one of the big "but"s of scripture. -- if you keep looking back, is God ashamed of you?

I was struck by the "count the stars" idea. When at wits end, as Abram was, we need a larger picture - look at the stars, the universe. I am remembering the TV series ROOTS where they took the newborn, held it up to the sky and said, "Behold the only thing greater than yourself." Thought the Nicene creed would fit as we DO believe that God created the invisible stuff too. Might mention the dark matter that makes up most of the universe as we know it. Also thought I would talk about slavery. BTW - I, a Lutheran pastor, started a blog in Rev. Luther's name. 95 theses and counting.

I've spent the better part of the last week boxing up stuff in order to move to a small apartment while awaiting first call. It occurs to me that our posessions can weigh us down, make us slow and cumbersome - and definately make moving more difficult.

Jesus says to sell our posessions, that where our treasure is there our heart will be, and to be ready.It leads me to wonder: How does our penchant to amass 'stuff' get in the way of our discipleship life. It seems like a metaphor is struggling to surface somewhere.

Just some early thoughts. I am supply preaching at a different congregation this week - it's so hard to know where to go with it, when I don't know the congregation. Especially with these texts!